For a Sunday stroll, we tramped through the ice and snow at the scattering of buildings known as Fort Missoula. Today it houses a museum and regional and local nonprofits. The place has quite a past: founded in 1877 to protect white settlers from Native Americans; African American infantry arrived in 1888 (soon to be the first U.S. bicycle corps); military training during World War I; later, regional headquarters for the Civilian Conservation Corps; then an alien detention center during World War II. Apparently it held “1,200 non-military Italian men, 1,000 Japanese resident aliens, 23 German resident aliens, and 123 Japanese Latin and South Americans.” There is more to be seen — for instance, the restored barrack that we didn’t get to this time.

27 Jan 2012, 4:30pm, Varsity Theater, Carbondale, Illinois.